Ukraine successfully adapting to counter Russian drones - ISW
Ukraine continues to successfully adapt its anti-drone capabilities, allowing Ukrainian forces to use lower-end systems to offset Russian pressure on Ukraine’s limited air defense umbrella.
That’s according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank, Ukrinform saw.
According to Ukrainian military analyst Petro Chernyk, Ukrainian electronic warfare systems disrupt radar-guided Shahed-136/131 drones, causing them to change course and crash after eventually running out of fuel.
Ukrainian officials recently reported that some Russian Shahed drones missed their targets for unspecified reasons, but on August 31 and September 6, the Ukrainian Air Force acknowledged that Ukrainian EW systems did affect the Russian drones.
Also, Ukrainian drone manufacturer Besomar said it developed an interceptor drone that can shoot down unspecified Russian drones and that Ukrainian forces are already using these interceptor drones in the combat zone.
ISW has also recently observed reports of Ukrainian forces using first-person view (FPV) drones to down Russian helicopters and reconnaissance and strike drones.
“These Ukrainian countermeasures are part of wider efforts aimed at offsetting the pressure that repeated, large-scale Russian strike series exert on Ukraine's limited air defense umbrella in the face of delayed and inconsistent deliveries of Western security assistance,” ISW analysts report.
The think tank notes that Ukraine's use of EW means to counter Shahed drones will notably allow Ukrainian forces to conserve the limited air defense systems and missiles that Ukraine needs to protect against Russian missile strikes targeting Ukrainian frontline areas, critical infrastructure, and major population centers.
ISW analysts emphasize that the Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in a technological offense-defense race and that Ukraine's ability to field technological innovations at scale ahead of Russian adaptations is crucial for Ukraine's ability to offset Russia's current materiel advantages
As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia’s total combat casualty toll in Ukraine since the invasion is estimated at 625,260, including 1,270 killed our wounded in the past day alone.
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